Chapter 8: Chapter VII: Grinding

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As the days passed and his health continued to deteriorate despite having bought a mask for himself, Gino pressed on, taking on more jobs from The Guild in the hope of triggering another system mission.

The reward from the previous mission had been a space defense platform, which had little practical use for him at the moment. Yet, instead of discouraging him, the reward motivated Gino to aim higher, as if he were addicted to a gacha game.

However, luck was not on his side. System-generated missions didn't come as frequently as Gino would have liked. He only received two more missions, each with smaller rewards than he'd initially hoped for: 1 experience point from one mission and 2 from another, without any additional prizes.

On the credit side, his capital had increased to 455 credits, a sum that could have been higher if not for the 55 credits he'd spent on the air filter mask he now wore.

Not everything was negative, though. Through these experiences, Gino began to understand the criteria the system used to generate missions and rewards. The more people affected and the more significant the change in events and fates, the higher the likelihood of the system classifying a job as a mission.

'I still need to run more tests, but I think I've figured out the kind of work that will benefit me most in achieving my goal,' Gino mused to himself as he sat down for lunch. In front of him was Beatrix, her mask resting to the side as she ate the same pasty substance that constituted their midday ration.

The young teenager had become his regular conversation partner over these days of hard work. Every day, after their respective tasks were done, the two would sit down to chat. Beatrix often tried to convince Gino to accept her proposal, and with each passing day, her persistence was beginning to bear fruit in Gino's opinion.

For Gino, the routine of working as a courier and guide across the vast city had left him with more questions than answers. He had noticed how many of the people he interacted with were hesitant to talk. This, in turn, made him appreciate the connection he'd unexpectedly forged with Beatrix.

Having someone to talk to, even if the conversations were about trivial matters, helped clear his mind and prevented him from falling into the mental trap of simply working, eating, and sleeping. Gino realized that this mechanical routine was slowly crushing the spirit of the people around him. Their vacant eyes, combined with the oppressive and stifling atmosphere that permeated the city, gave him the impression that most were little more than walking corpses, dead inside.

For Gino, the life of the average Vandalorian was no life at all. It was far removed from what he aspired to live day by day. "And the worst part is," Beatrix had once told him, "the people you see on the streets are the lucky ones. Most don't ever leave their place of work or even get to walk around."

When Gino had broached the topic with her, the revelation had shocked him. Though he had a vague understanding of life in a hive city, living it firsthand was something entirely different. Beatrix hadn't gone into too much detail, but Gino knew that those who lived even further below the surface, away from what he considered his current level of hardship, had it far worse.

The hive cities were kept standing by geothermal energy drawn from the planet's tectonic plates. They had originally been planned as paradises, maintained by the Men of Iron, while humans lived in ecological utopias without polluting the worlds where these cities stood. However, with the fall of Humanity during the Age of Strife, the quality of life greatly deteriorated, and the descendants of those who once lived in paradise were now trapped in prisons where they neither saw the sun nor led dignified lives.

Worse still was the existence of those living deep in the heatsink, beneath the earth, a place where in today's Warhammer universe, chaos reigned. Here, mutants, heretics, and exiles eked out a life far from all civilisation. There were no credits, no food, no water, and no opportunity to leave Vandalor. Survival was a daily struggle.

Though the details eluded Gino's mind, he was well aware of this grim reality, as it was the norm in the vast majority of hive cities.

'I just hope the worst thing on Vandalor is Chaos cultists and not Genestealer cults…' Struggling to swallow his food at the thought, Gino took a sip of his drink while watching Beatrix.

To Gino's surprise, he found her quite attractive without the mask, his eyes often lingering on her full lips, though she only returned his gaze with tired eyes.

"Didn't sleep well?" Gino asked, noticing this.

Shaking her head, Beatrix waited until she had taken a bite and swallowed before responding with a sigh.

"Not really, but I'm used to it by now. Nightmares and bad dreams are pretty common. I think even the nobles in their shitty towers suffer the same as us." Her tone carried venom, but also a hint of satisfaction as she shot Gino a sly look.

Raising his eyebrows at her words, Gino revealed, "Really? I haven't dreamt of anything so far, but I sleep pretty well, aside from the stiff neck from that metal bed." He refrained from mentioning that his height made it difficult to fit into the bed, but he was otherwise honest.

Scoffing at his comment and mocking it, Beatrix shot Gino a scornful look as she said, "Oh sure, the fine gentleman never sleeps badly, has perfect skin, and is tall… bloody high-born bastard." The last words were muttered under her breath.

Gino only offered her a smile and a light laugh, understanding she didn't truly mean it, and that she was simply pointing out the difference between them.

"Well, beautiful people need their beauty sleep, it's a shame you're unfamiliar with it." Gino teased Beatrix further, who responded with an exasperated expression, raising her eyebrows, "Are you serious, Gino?".

Grinning from ear to ear, Gino said nothing more as he finished his meal.

Beatrix, about to finish hers as well, asked, "What work have you got later? I'll be stuck running back and forth near the centre, ugh." Seeing her complain, Gino could only smirk.

"It's not much, but they're paying me pretty well to take some things to the Soft Silk district—120 credits for the job." Gino revealed, gesturing with his face to show how pleased he was at the prospect of easy work for good pay.

However, Beatrix frowned at his words, looking at him seriously as she said, "Be careful there, and whatever you do, keep your head cool, okay?" Surprising Gino, who hadn't expected the sudden change in her mood or tone.

Sitting up straight and unconsciously drawing his neck in, Gino asked, "Why? What's there?"

Pushing the now nearly empty plate in front of her, Beatrix let out a long sigh, shaking her head as she revealed, "It's the pleasure district here in this ring of level three, and honestly, it's not a good sight at all."

Gino nodded and kept his thoughts to himself. Beatrix was a woman, and her opinion on the matter might differ from a man's—something he understood well enough.

After saying their goodbyes and promising to meet here again tomorrow, they both went their separate ways to continue with their respective jobs.

Lining up with other workers, Gino noticed the empty expressions of the young men and not-so-old faces around him. He remained serious as the oppressive and suffocating atmosphere enveloped him once again. Once he confirmed his job with Brund and grabbed two sizable plastic packages, Gino headed towards the exit of the Guild, opening the system's map tab as he went.

Navigating through the streets, his eyes wandered less than on previous days, his mind focused on the task at hand. Under his breath, he murmured Earth songs to calm his nerves as he made his way through the streets of level three in the outer ring of Vandalor.

Slowly, he began to notice the change in the buildings and atmosphere, as well as the type of people walking around as he neared his destination. Groups of men, diverse in appearance and style, moved through the crowd, while women with suggestive looks lined either side of the narrow streets. The little sun-light that reached level three was almost non-existent in this part of the city. Only the neon glow from hundreds of signs and adverts illuminated the surroundings.

As Gino walked through that area, he felt, for the first time, a deep sense of sadness and falsehood. In the eyes of the prostitutes on the streets, he saw only darkness and utter loneliness. Their smiles carried nothing but defeat and resignation.

In the men who entered and exited the establishments, there was no satisfaction or happiness, only a fleeting reprieve from their daily lives—a brief hit of dopamine to help them carry on.

It was as he continued toward his destination that Gino came to a harsh and bitter realisation about the injustice of life for so many. How cruel fate could be to those whose paths, through one reason or another, had led them to such a place.

Feeling a hollow emptiness in his chest and his mind going blank, Gino stopped, frozen in front of a shop window lit by a pale blue light. There, like mannequins or pieces of meat on display, stood three female figures. For a moment, Gino wasn't sure if they were just sex dolls or actual people, as behind them were several female torsos missing their heads. In the space where the heads should have been, there was nothing but empty sockets and cables extending from the necks, as with their other limbs.

Beneath them was a row of different female heads of all ethnicities and colours. Gino felt sick, his face going pale when he noticed that one of the three women on display, missing an arm, was staring right at him.

Breathing with difficulty and feeling his eyes well up, Gino turned his gaze away and decided to deliver the packages to his destination.

But after seeing that image, his eyes drifted down to the two plastic boxes in his arms, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was carrying something similar to what he had just seen in that window.

'God, please let me wake from this nightmare someday...' That was the first thought that came back to Gino after a while, a shiver running through his body.

Delivering the boxes to a brothel, Gino moved on autopilot during the exchange, waiting only for the confirmation token so he could return to the Guild.

A few minutes later, on his way back, Gino made the decision to stop once more in front of that display window. The image just wouldn't leave his mind.

With the neon light casting a glow on his face, Gino stood tall in front of the window, the eyes of the three women fixing on him, reflecting the same emptiness he felt inside.

His height and physique stood out among the crowd, as people bustled past the display window without giving it a second glance—except for Gino, who seemed to be the only anomaly in that place to the passing strangers.

"Five hundred credits for the torso of... whatever that is. And 'Juri,' two thousand nine hundred credits..." Gino read the scraps of paper placed next to each of the pieces and beings on display. The sickness in his stomach was too much to bear as his fists clenched tightly.

Seeing the way the three women looked at him, Gino knew they weren't Servitors. They were people like him, daughters or sisters of someone, now displayed for anyone with enough credits in their pockets to buy them.

Tears welled up in his eyes, and Gino lowered his gaze, seething with rage inside. His soul screamed for him to do something, to save these people from such a horrible life and fate. But his mind knew that he couldn't even save himself.

He felt sick and disgusted, ashamed that he wasn't acting, that he couldn't follow the most basic impulse of compassion that surged and overflowed from within.

"...Sorry..." he murmured, almost a whisper, to the eyes of the three women as he turned and let his legs carry him wherever they would. His mind was in no condition to decide or think.

Among the crowded streets of Vandalor, where people struggled to live and survive, among the lost and frustrated dreams crushed under the oppressive weight of reality, wandered the defeated and ashamed spirit of Gino.

For hours he walked. Night fell over the hive city. But Gino only stopped when he reached the railing of a street that overlooked the abyss between levels. There, standing and gazing at the vast expanse before him, Gino contemplated many things he thought and felt.

That night, Gino did not return to the Guild. That night, something inside him changed.